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Iryna Vodolazhchenko
П’ять масок із гіпсу досліджують людську здатність адаптуватися до часу невизначеності. Кожен наступний шар наближає до того, що не піддається зовнішнім змінам, — внутрішньої людяності. Робота пропонує сприймати маску як тонку межу між крихкістю та стійкістю, між тим, що світ бачить, і тим, що людина зберігає всередині.
Iryna Vodolazhchenko is a Ukrainian multidisciplinary artist, muralist, and curator based in Kharkiv. Working across monumental painting, spatial installation, drawing, illustration, public art, and site-specific practices, she explores the relationships between people, place, memory, and natural processes. Her work engages with themes of home, identity, safety, collective memory, loss, and transformation, examining how these experiences are shaped by the environments we inhabit.
At the core of Vodolazhchenko’s practice is an investigation into the ways material, space, and time shape human experience. Through large-scale drawing, architectural structures, and natural materials, she creates works that function not only as objects but as environments for contemplation and interaction. Rather than representing memory, her installations and images seek to embody its physical and emotional presence.
An important strand of the artist’s practice is the exploration of Ukrainian cultural heritage and local memory. Drawing on field research, traditional craft techniques, and natural pigments, she reinterprets vernacular artistic traditions through a contemporary visual language, connecting personal narratives with broader cultural and social histories. She is also a co-founder of 79 Kut, an independent art space in Kharkiv.
Vodolazhchenko has participated in 21 exhibitions, including five international projects, and has created 28 murals and public art interventions, seven of them abroad. Alongside her artistic practice, she has curated and organized around twenty cultural and artistic projects in Ukraine and internationally.
Education
Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts — Bachelor’s degree in Monumental Painting.
Master’s degree in Design, Art, and Art-Pedagogical Therapy.
Professional activity
Co-founder of 79 Kut Art Space, Kharkiv.
Author of murals and public art projects in Ukraine and abroad, including murals created on war-damaged residential buildings in Izium (2022).
Illustrator of Drafts of the Wild Field, a book of Kharkiv legends by Nataliia Marynchak.
Participant in the WALLS&MINDS Street Art Festival, Kharkiv.
Selected exhibitions
2023 — Under Fire (solo exhibition), 79 Kut Art Space, Kharkiv.
Works presented at M17 Contemporary Art Center, Kyiv.
